Caltrain neighbors to expect modest increase in rail activity

18 April 2012

Beginning now through May 24, neighbors along the Caltrain corridor will notice a modest increase in rail activity, horn noise and gate down time Monday through Thursday nights between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. These times were chosen to minimize the impacts to passenger service.

On weekends, passengers should expect off-schedule trains operating during the midday. These trains cannot pick up passengers while the engineers are qualifying.

Caltrain’s new contract-operator, Transit America Services Inc. or TASI will be qualifying several Federal Railroad Administration-certified engineers to operate trains on the Caltrain right of way.

Every effort will be made to minimize the disruption and the number of training trips necessary.

Engineers go through a qualification process to familiarize themselves with the Caltrain right of way and operations. Caltrain’s corridor contains physical and geographic characteristics that are unique to the system. Because of the more than 40 at-grade crossings between San Francisco and San Jose, it is critical that the engineers are familiar with operating conditions before they begin running passenger service.

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TASI was awarded the Caltrain operator contract in 2011 during a competitively bid process. Over the past year, TASI, Caltrain staff and the previous operator, Amtrak, have worked closely to minimize impacts to passengers and our neighboring communities during this transition. The majority of Caltrain engineers will continue to work for Caltrain as TASI employees.

TASI is scheduled to take over full operation of the Caltrain service May 26.